The Next Generation: Beginning of the Raspberries
by Speedy Hobbit
Summary: This is the story of the offspring of the trio, along with four other girls. During the beginning of their Hogwarts career, they must contend with a fan of the late Voldemort, and a copycat crime of the fanatical extremist.
1. Default Chapter

Author's note: Erm… this is a completely rewritten version of my story about the Raspberries and the other students from the generation after that of Harry Potter. Among other characters, I also feature the children of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.. At least, the ones who began their Hogwarts career in the 2017-2018 school year. Gwen, Felicia, Fern, Daphne, Janine, Christina, and Lucia are the Raspberries. *shudder* I can't believe I'm using netspeak *anywhere*, but.. You'll see what I mean towards the end of the story..

*A prologue/storyish sort of thing*

It was a hot, muggy sort of July day in England. One could interpret the weather as it longed to rain, but just couldn't. It was July 31st, 2017... the 37th birthday of Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

Indeed, Harry Potter was no longer a boy, he was now a grown man. He stil had the same messy black hair he had always possessed, and he still wore glasses. He was thin, and of the stature of 68 inches. He was no longer the shrimpy sort of male he had been as a boy. He was still slightly below average in height, but he wasn't really short. 

Harry Potter was now married to Hannah Abbott, who had been a Hufflepuff in his year at Hogwarts,. During his 5th year, Harry had sat with Hannah in Herbology, angry at Ron and Hermione over a slight squabble they had, about a very pointless subject. They had been telling Harry that they didn't think he was being cautious enough, and he'd been offended. Harry wasn't the overly cautious sort of person.

Harry had spoken animatedly with Hannah throughout the period. She had a different temperament then himself, yet he thought she would turn out to be a good friend. Hannah valued trust and loyalty above all else when it came to friends, something Harry saw and appreciated. She, too, was annoyingly over-cautious, yet Harry knew it was because she cared. She was opinionated and possessed a temper, which intrigued Harry weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be mild? Little did he know that he actually had things in common with Hannah.

Hannah had convinced Harry to make up with his two best friends, by pointing out that the only reason that they were lecturing him to be careful was because they cared about him and didn't want him to be lost to the world. And with this, Harry realized he'd misjudged her in earlier years. Or had she merely changed as a person? Hannah didn't seem to be the airhead, the gossip, the true blonde that he had judged her to be. Instead, she was a sweet, honest, loyal, and perhaps even brave, kind of person.

Although she was in a different house, although they had different sets of friends originally, Harry and Hannah had grown close. Harry came to know some of Hanah's deepest secrets. One day, Harry had spotted Hannah crying in a hallway, not noticing anything that was going on. Concerned for his newest friend, Harry walked over to her and rested a hand on her thin shoulder. Indeed, Hannah was rather skinny. She was a tall blonde, and she wore rather thick glasses, which she had gotten during the summer between fourth and fifth year.

"Hannah, what's the mater?" Harry asked awkwardly. He just couldn't figure out the feminine mindset. Did his friend have a boyfriend he hadn't known about, had Hannah just gone through a bad breakup or something?

Shaking, Hannah held out a letter for Harry to read. Taking it, he turned rather pale. The letter was signed, "Anne Abbott." The letter was very harsh, accusing Hannah of turning into a spoiled brat, and not caring about somebody named Bryce and someone named Edwin.

"Who are Anne, Bryce, and Edwin?" Harry asked, bewildered. Judging by the fact that they had the same surname, they were probably related to her.

"M-mm… f-family m-members," Hannah sobbed, finally looking up. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. "Anne is m-my m-m-mother, and B-Bryce and Edwin are… are m-my b-b-brothers." She was stuttering rather badly through her tears. 

Harry looked awkwardly at the tall blonde, shocked that anyone would talk to their own daughter like that. The tone of the letter strongly reminded him of the Dursleys. Harry just kept his hand resting on Hannah's shoulder, until the girl finally desisted. Then he decided to press the matter a little further.

"Why would your own mother talk to you like that?" Harry asked, rereading a line in horror. "I wish you had never been born."

"She hates me, she always has," Hannah said grimly. "She favors my brothers. Bryce is a third year here, and Edwin is three. She always makes me look after them. They can get away with murder, while if I look at her the wrong way… she starts screaming at me. Sometimes she even slaps me." Hannah was pouring out a secret she had never divulged to anyone. She could feel an indescribable hatred awakening inside her, as she poured out her story. She told of how her brother was a complete idiot, and how she was blamed for his antics. "Once he decided to pile up gunpowder and light it on fire. It exploded, and he got burned. She was home, I wasn't even baby-sitting. I was just sitting on the swing set. She came out and started screaming at me, asking why I'd let him do it. I wasn't even paying him any mind, I was just daydreaming and swinging. I didn't see, or I'd have warned him not to do something as abysmally foolhardy as that."

Harry looked at Hannah with a sort of pity as she poured out her emotions. He could definitely sympathize, her situation at home reminded him of how he felt staying with the Dursleys. They had one very sad thing in common: they were both loathed by those who were supposed to love them, considered lower than a lug, abused.

Eventually, Hannah grew to be more than just friends, and then fell into love. They married shortly after the end of seventh year, but their troubles weren't over. Something happened that could have killed Hannah, and that caused Harry to quit professional Quidditch for her sake. A dreadful thing came to pass, something that would change their lives forever. (OOC: I will not go into it at this point)

Despite everything, they overcame this hurdle and Hannah miraculously became pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter Fernanda Jean on September 13th, 2006.

Hermione Granger also fell into love, with a Muggle man by name of Michael Belasca. Being a Muggle-born, Hermione had absolutely no inhibition about marrying Michael. On July 4th, 2006 she gave birth to her first-born, a girl named Felicia Patricia. Six years later, on December 16th, 2012, she had her second-born, a boy named Thomas. About this time, Hermione made the error of revealing her secret to her husband. She knew he was a devout Christian, but she didn't think he would be offended by her identity, so, over a romantic dinner at home one night, while the children were with their maternal grandparents, Hermione spilled the beans. Horrified, Michael rushed upstairs. The next morning, Hermione found a heartbreaking note from Michael saying he'd gone for good, and he wanted nothing to do with magical folks. Taking this blow very hard, Hermione arranged for the children to stay with her parents for a month while she colected her thoughts. Felicia never quite forgave her father for this dire betrayal.

The third of the trio, Ron, also found true love after Hogwarts, with a girl from another wizarding school. In a Hogsmeade pub one night, Ron spotted a red-haired young woman sitting by herself. Ron thought to himself that the petite redhead was gorgeous, and, summoning his courage, asked if he could join her. Blushing, the girl gave her consent. After talking, Ron learned, through a thick French accent, that her name was Meredith Zwing, and she had attended Beauxbatons Academy. Remembering Fleur, Ron was originally apprehensive about the girl, but he got over it and proposed in 1999. Shortly before the wedding, their firstborn, Erin, was born. After Erin, they had a few more children, including Daphne, born in January of 2006.

"You know what, ladies?" Harry Potter was in the living room of his small one-story house with Hannah and Fern. It was still his birthday, and he'd made a decision of his celebration. "I reckon we should visit Diagon Alley tomorrow, for a belated birthday celebration. We can get Fern's things, and then we can get lunch and dinner there. It will be a sort of celebration for both my birthday and Ferns, as she won't be here for hers; she'll be at school." Harry kept quiet about the other part of his plan.. That he had planed a reunion with Ron and Hermione exactly for this occasion. He had kept in touch with them via owl post,, but Fern had never met their kids, and he wanted to change that before she began school. He had taken into consideration Fern's shy nature; she could easily have difficulty making friends, and her famous name wouldn't help. She was likely to act withdrawn and antisocial if approached by others and put through the third-degree about her family. His daughter was a very private sort.

"Sure, that's great, Dad," Fern said, grinning. She understood the fun in stretching a birthday, having done so the previous ear by inviting a couple of school friends over a couple of weeks after turning ten. The skinny girl ran a hand through the blonde hair she had inherited from her mother, a smile still pasted on her pale face. She glanced at her bespectacled mother, wondering how come she didn't need glasses while both her parents did.

"Hannah? May I please have your feedback? What do you say we do this tomorrow?" Harry asked, looking at his wife pointedly. Noticing his expression, Hannah gave her consent. 

On the same day, Gwen Meek bounded into her house, her face flushed. Perspiration was pouring down her face, as she'd been out jogging with her father. Gwendolyn Meek considered running her all-time passion, and she was exceptional at it too. She was the fastest runner in her school, and her dearest ambition was to become a professional track star. Just a couple of weeks, Gwen had won the first place medal for the local junior league. Gwen's heart swelled with prides as she spotted her medal, posted on her own bulletin board along with her certificate for exceptional clarinet-playing and one for her artwork. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing she was good at so much. Her nickname at school was "Little Miss Perfect." At the same time, Gwen wasn't conceited, making others love her even more. She rarely bragged about her accomplishments, and she recognized and worked on her shortcomings. Glancing at her smiling school portrait, Gwen thought, _I have a lot going for me. I wonder what this year'll bring. _

While lost in her thought, Gwen heard the click of the copper mail slot. As both her parents were out back, Gwen sorted through the letters… junk mail… more junk mail, including an advertisement striking her as very funny. "Who the heck would want a nose hair clipper?" Gwen mused aloud, chortling. Underneath the ad proclaiming, "Be Hairless…Free nose hair clipper with the purchase of 5 tubs of wax!" was a curious-looking envelope indeed, addressed to Gwen so specifically that it even listed her attic bedroom. It struck her as ominous that some random person knew where she slept,. But, her curiosity getting the better of her, she tore open the envelope with a long fingernail. Her jaw dropped as her turquoise eyes skimmed the letter.

"Mom! Dad!" the tall, sandy-haired girl hollered. "Come here.. you've got to see this!"

At the Cooper residence in Wales, 11-year-old Janine was n the computer, which she thought of as her second home. Janine was in a group chart with her close-knit group of friends.

Jgrrlness: OMG, its hot 2day, I dun blieve this.

Sarapara22ms: it's been worse, dun u remember last year?

Jgrrlness: O. True ture

Jgrrlness: *true

XXiamthexeniaXX: Janiene can't spell

Sarapara22ms: LMFAO

Iamcoffeehigh: Janiene?

Jgrrlness: lol, u should talk xenia lmfao

XXiamthexeniaXX: OMG my virgin ears!

Jgrrlness:ROTFFFLMFAO

Sarapara22ms: ?

Iamcoffeehigh: what, Janine?

Jgrrlness: r u still hi on caffiene Cassie?

Iamcoffeehigh: Hell yeah

Sarapara22ms: *Janine

Jgrrlness: good job Sara u figured out how 2 spell my name.

Sarapara22ms: shut the @#$% up Janine

Iamcoffeehigh: I think Xenia died

Jgrrlness: me 2, hey, h/o, where's Donna

XXiamthexeniaXX: naw, my ears just burned by the foul language

Sarapara22ms: Donna's brbing, dun u remember?

Londonluvaoo: n/m I'm back, did I miss nething from b4?

Jgrrlness: naw

Sarapara22ms: naw

XXiamthexeniaXX: lol were u 2 typing @ the same time?

While thinking of a wisecrack to say to Sara, Xenia, Cassie, and Donna, Janine heard her bratty brother, Bryn, calling from the stairwell. Sighing with disgust, Janine typed "brb" and posted her away message.

"What do you want, brat?" Janine asked. Laughing, Bryan replied that her father had called for her. Punching her brother on the shoulder with a medium-skinned hand, the auburn-haired girl ran downstairs, jumping the last couple of steps.

"We have to go to London today," Mr. Cooper told his chubby daughter. Janine frowned.

"Since when?" She'd wanted to spend the whole day chatting with her posse.

"You'd better get used to not being on that silly computer, you're not going top be able to access one at Hogwarts, they don't work. So log of, we're going to Diagon Alley."

"Fine," his short daughter said, scowling. She ran back upstairs to the computer room.

Jgrrlness: I g2g, I'm going 2 london

Ondonluvaoo: u lucky!

Sarapara22ms: y?

Jgrrlness: no idea, g2g, dad's having a cow

XXiamthexeniaXX: aww

Sarapara22ms: bye

Jgrrlness: l8ta, bbl

Janine logged off and trudged downstairs, still irked over the loss of online time. As she passed the wooden mirror in the hall, she briefly stopped to brush her wavy auburn hair with her fingers, and continued on her way.

"Blimey, it's hot!" Christina Zzra was walking along the twisted, cobbled streets with her brothers Curtis, Craig, and Carson. Sweat was pouring down her olive-skinned face, and she continually had to shove her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose, as they kept slipping. She was shopping for her first-ever term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and was too scorched from the sweltering heat to observe much of the fascinating stores from Ollivander's to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Hold on," Curtis said, grabbing the strap of his younger sister's tank top. Whirling around, her black eyes glaring at her brother, Christina said, "What?"

"Chris, you need a wand." Christina scowled, loathing being called anything besides her proper name. Making a futile attempt to smooth her flyaway auburn hair, Christina entered the shop, closely followed by her brothers. They were always entertained by watching somebody trying out a new wand. The Zzra siblings coughed slightly from the dust as they waited.

"Good afternoon, good afternoon to you all," a scratchy voice came from somewhere behind Christina. Startled, she whirled around to find herself facing a wizened old man with wide, pale eyes that were oddly illuminated in the dismal shop. "And who might be trying out a wand, getting one of my creations? Ell, actually, the wand chooses the wizard, but.. right, then…" Christina assumed that this frail old man was Mr. Ollivander, the mysterious owner of the shop. The man's mysterious demeanor gave her a strange feeling about him. When his silvery eyes fastened on her, she hoped he'd look away.

"Erm, excuse me, I'd like to purchase a wand," Christina said, rather timidly for her usually outspoken character.

"Aha. I thought so, you look about the right age to be starting a new term, you do." Christina nearly laughed out loud at this, people ordinarily told her that her small stature made her look about nine instead of eleven. Mr. Ollivander, having spoken, removed a tape measure from the pocket of his rather frayed robes and began measuring the small girl. After encircling her head, Ollivander began speaking of how no two wands were the same as he took out boxes. Christina, although in a state of mystified bewilderment, did notice that the tape measure, now closing itself around her neck, was operating by itself, most likely via magic. Christina wondered why Ollivander was measuring her when she was shopping for a wand, not wizard's robes. 

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Felicia Belasca felt ready to scream from her younger brother Tom's incessant whining. The Belascas were taking an impromptu car trip to Wales from their home, and Tom did not seem pleased. Felicia turned around from the front passenger seat to whack her brother on the head with a rolled-up magazine.\

"Felicia…" Hermione said reproving, watching her bickering children with distaste while trying to watch the road. The car contained some enchantments, but Hermione was still a stickler for the rules. Her children were trying her patience.

"Mooom, Tom's kicking the back of my… ow, cut it out you brat!" Felicia said fiercely as one particularly hard kick caught her in the small of her back.

At the end of her tether, Hermione pulled over to the side of the road, furiously glowering at her two children, wondering at the sibling rivalry. "Kids, this car is not moving again until you two knock the fighting off."

Lucia Finch-Fletchley was laughing in a particularly loud fashion. She and her sister Daria were seated at the table, playing an enthusiastic round of Slapjack and listening to the Wizarding Wireless Network. There were two reasons for the mirth. One was that the deejay had just told a joke which struck her as particularly amusing. The other was that she had jut managed to slip her hand under that of her younger sister's as the jack of spades came up. "What do you know, even a chubsterette like myself can have the reflexes to win at this," Lucia said, still chortling. She was rubbish at sports, so the part about reflexes had been self-mockery. After her sister and she took their hands off the messy pile of cards, they automatically began to shuffle and lay on the table, facedown. It was nice how the cards conveniently shuffled by themselves after a round was over so they wouldn't have to worry about the fairness of it all. The pale brunette smiled at her tanned sister. "What shall we play now? Spit? War? Exploding snap? Gobstones?"

"OOooooh, gross, I don't want to play anymore!" a small redhead cried with disgust as one of her Gobstones spurted its rank liquid directly into her face. Wiping the stuff off with a cloth, Daphne Weasley smiled at her 9-year-old sister Miranda and their cousin Orange. "I mean it, that stuff is disgusting, this is the fifth time I lost!" The truth was, Daphne Weasley was a sore loser, and always insisted n switching games when things didn't go her way.

"Why not break out a deck of cards then?" Orange said, wiggling her skinny body in the chair. She deliberately flung a gobstone at her elder cousin. The stone roled off the round table onto the ground and rolled underneath. Sighing with disgust, Daphne ducked underneath the table to retrieve it, deciding against making Orange get it. "There, I've got.. Oh, my frikking gosh, that hurt like hell!" Daphne said as she cracked her head against the bottom of the table. She crawled out, one hand clasping the game piece, the other over the sore spot. Miranda had her head on the table, and was snickering. Flicking the back of her sister's head, Daphne ran into the house to get the Exploding Snap game cards. Glancing at the calendar, he saw words flashing which hadn't been there before for August first… "Visit Dagon Alley" Daphne blinked, surprised at this sudden decision of her parents to suddenly buy everybody's school things tomorrow.

(OOC: and here's where I leave off… until next time!)


	2. Leaky Cauldron

Author's note/disclaimer: This is my second chapter of my chronicling the first year of the Raspberries, blah blah blah, I don't own anything, blah blah blah. Um. m0o0o? I dunnoooooo . m00f. And, yeah. Pardon my rambling, my mind is boggled from Christmas munchings. (I may not post this Christmas, but my Author's note was made on Christmas ^.^) Um... join my Harry Potter RPG, at www.avidgamers.com/raspberryrpg. It's a knockoff of this story! I also would very much appreciate it if you read my story "The Unknown Two Fellowship Members" and advised me on that story, I notw have a huge case of writer's block concerning Libby and April. Did I mention I own nothing created by J.K. Rowling, goddess who created Harry Potter? Okay, Tricia will zip her trap and get on with the story.  
  
  
  
The next day, August first, was even more scorching than the previous day. Fern's hair was up in a messy ponytail, but it was no good. She felt as if she would positively perish from the relentless heat. Wiping sweat off her face for the umpteenth time, Fern entered the Leaky Cauldron with her parents on either side of her, carrying the bag containing the robes they had purchased from Madam Malkins. Her father had the heaviest of the bags, containing everything from a cauldron to smaller Potions ingredients. Mrs. Potter, in contrast, remained empty-handed.  
  
"Are we getting ice cream or anything? It's hot out!" Fern complained as the Potters passed the cashier and they took a particularly large table. "Why such a large table?"  
  
"We're meeting some old school friends of your father," Mrs. Potter told, patting her lanky daughter on the table. "Sit. We'll get food after everybody has arrived."  
  
Fern frowned. Everybody? Did this mean that more people besides Ms. Granger or whatever her new surname was and Mr. Weasley would be making an appearance? Fern didn't like this; she wasn't really used to meeting a large number of unfamiliar people at once. Both her parents tended to be introverts, not even conversing with the neighbors. She, Fern, had inherited the reserved disposition both her parents possessed. Her father, judging by the stories he'd told her, only had two close friends, although he was also friendly with his teammates on the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, and Mr. Weasley's siblings. This was a new thing for her, a large sort of gathering with her parents being the center of attention. She was used to being gawked at, as the daughter of an exceptionally famous man, but being directly in the action was another matter entirely.  
  
The door creaked again, as another family of three came into the dismally lit pub. This family, however, did not have the paternal unit with them; just a mother, brother, and sister. if the woman wasn't their aunt or something. Perhaps she was even a lonely woman who took the children or grandchildren of her next-door neighbors on trips. The brunette woman was of average stature and a slender build. Her hair was long, thick, and extremely bushy. The girl, who was older than what seemed to be her brother, had hair the exact same color, although it was straighter and less unruly. While her eyes were the same shape as the woman's, they were blue rather than brown. The boy appeared to be about four or five, judging by his gait. His hair was blond, thick, and straight, and he had brown eyes. To Fern's surprise, the woman suddenly pointed directly at her father, and the trio hurried towards the Potter family. A pink tinge appeared in Fern's cheeks. Apparently, the woman had spotted the lightning-bolt shaped scar on her father's forehead.  
  
"Why, hello, Hermione, long time, yet no see!" Of course, Fern thought, how could I be so dense? The woman fit an older version of the description her father had given about his friend from adolescence, Hermione Granger.  
  
"Harry!" The woman threw her arms first around Mr. Potter, and then Mrs. Potter, as Fern sat there dumbfounded. The unfamiliar boy and girl seemed to be hanging back behind their mother.  
  
"I am Ms. Belasca," Hermione said, smiling at Fern. "Harry, what did your say your daughter's name is? Francine?"  
  
"Fernanda," said Harry, as his daughter reddened, "but we usually call her Fern.  
  
"Fern. That's a nice name," Hermione said. "Harry, Hannah, Fern, these are my children, Felicia and Tommy." She indicated a gangly brunette and a small blonde boy of about five or six. Felicia grinned at the other girls her age present in the group.  
  
After introductions were completed, the entire cluster of people took one of the larger tables in the Leaky Cauldron, dividing into groups by age. Before long, another family had joined them: Mr. and Mrs. Justin Finch- Fletchley, and their two daughters Daria and Lucia. Lucia was the same age as Fern, Daphne, and Felicia, while Daria was a year younger. The girl their age was chubby with very fair skin, and long, dark hair and eyes. Her sister Daria had lighter hair and darker skin, but the same build and eyes. Before long, Felicia, Daphne, and Luicia were chatting animatedly as if they'd known each other forever, while Fern merely ate her food and then stared at her empty plate. The others kept asking her questions, but the blonde was too shy to give more than monosyllabic answers, and did not prove very keen on idle table conversation. Klucia was also soft-spoken, yet she contributed to the conversation, while Fern felt as if she had little to say to these girls.  
  
"What do you think, should we all get a compartment together on the Hogwarts Express? All four of us?" Felicia asked, indicating Daphne, Fern, Lucia, and herself with one of her bony hands.  
  
"Hey, that's a good idea, at least one of us must be early though, to reserve an empty compartment," Daphne pointed out, idly running a hand through her long, wavy red hair.  
  
"You're right," Felicia said thoughtfully, "but don't worry. Mom is a stickler for punctuality, I'll definitely be early, me and Stinko and all."  
  
"Hey, don't call me Stinko Felice!" Tom whined from further on down the table, where he was sitting with Daphne's 9-year-old sister, who wasn't too pleased with the seating arrangements. "Mommy, Felicia caled me Stinko again! She's being mean to me!"  
  
"Felicia," Ms. Belasca admonished, "be nice to your brother."  
  
Felicia scowled, then shot an extremely hostile glower at her younger sibling, mumbling about younger brothers being enormous frustrations.  
  
"Sisters, too," Daphne added, who at least one younger sibling of each, thinking of Miranda. Lucia ardently nodded her concurrence.  
  
"What about you? Got any others or sisters or cousins?" Lucia asked, once again trying to pry some words out of the taciturn blonde. She wondered why the girl was being so withdrawn, as if she disliked them.  
  
Fern shook her head. "I'm an only child," she mumbled in a barely audible mode. Lucia sighed inwardly, finally giving up on easily befriending Fern Potter. The girl was obviously a recluse, reluctant to enjoy the company of others.  
  
Fern felt different. These girls did seem interested in her, but she wished to observe them more before jumping to trust the. She'd been betrayed by those she'd counted friends before, and had no desire to repeat the experience. These other girls seemed to be getting frustrated from their efforts to lever open her shell, but that was their loss. A true friend would just have to accept the fact that Fern was one of those who needed time to feel at ease around others.  
  
A couple of hours later, the adults finally made the decision to depart from the Leaky Cauldron and return home, planning to meet again at King's Cross to do something after they had seen their soon-to-be first year daughters off. Felicia, Fern, Lucia, and Daphne, meanwhile, decided to share a compartment. Fern still remained withdrawn and almost sullen, a point which Daphne, Felicia, and Lucia discussed after she had left with Mr. and Mrs. Potter.  
  
"She's really quiet, isn't she?" Felicia mused, twisting one of her wisps from her bangs around her knobbly index finger.  
  
"Quiet isn't the word for it, she barely said two words to us all afternoon!" Daphne said, her orange eyebrows knitting together in a frown. The redhead was impatient and lacked the tolerance for coaxing shyer peers out of their shells. She tended to get irked by crustaceans very easily. "Good grief, all she has to do is say she doesn't want to be friends with us! A real disappointment, considering that my dad and hers were best friends."  
  
"You're not kidding," Lucia said, "but maybe she's just shy." The chubby girl could understand Fern better than her more extroverted friends Felicia and Daphne, after all, she had a timid nature herself, although not as extreme as Fern Potter's temperament. She pulled her scrunchie out of her hair in a gesture of sheer boredom, allowing her fine dark hair to fall forward into her bloodless complexion. "Well, I guess we'll see one another on the Express again.  
  
Author's note: Aargh, not my best of chapters. Writer's block: the bane of my existence. Hopefully, Chapter 3 wll be up much more quickly than this one! 


	3. Of the Hogwarts Express and Unpleasant C...

Author's note: Heyhey, you have stumbled upon chapter three of the saga of the first year of descendants of Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Hogwarts and 4 other friends of theirs.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nobody whose younger version appears in any of the works of JK Rowling, nor any places affiliated with Hogwarts. The Raspberries are all my mind-babies! *Grin*  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~  
  
Janine was in the midst of a pleasant dream, memories of the summer camp she had returned from just a week before. She had made many friends there, and considered it one of the better weeks she had experienced in the course of her lifetime. A small smile was playing on her slumbering expression. The alarm clock next to her ed was ticking noisily, the minute hand inching towards the designated time for it to go off. it was 5:27 in the morning on September the first.  
  
The black minute hand hit the slight groove in the clock indicating that it was half past five. "Gong! Gong! Gong! Time to get up! Gong! Gong! Gong!"  
  
The dream lost, Janine grumbled and groggily pushed herself onto her elbows, wearily glaring at that annoying mechanical device. When the tool of a bell sounded again, Janine struck the snooze button and rolled over. However, sleep stubbornly refused to return, and when the alarm sounded once more, Janine resignedly turned it off and softy climbed out of bed. She headed towards the bathroom she shared with her two younger brothers, her bare feet softly padding against the plush carpet of her bedroom.  
  
Suddenly, the gravity of the situation hit her- she was heading off to boarding school for the first time. This realization aroused a nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach. She would be away from home for three months straight, in an unfamiliar bed, until Christmas break. She worried about the possibility of homesickness, or that she might dislike the Wizarding School. What if she didn't fit in? The worst possibility was that the school could be overrun by elitist preps that criticized every superficial detail of a person. She had struck a turning point in her life; Janine Cooper was no longer a little kid. She had turned eleven in May, and was on the verge of adolescence.  
  
'I certainly don't look it, though,' Janine said, critically scrutinizing her reflection as she changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a RaBuF t-shirt, pulling a hooded sweatshirt on top. Her mirror image seemed to scream, "Little kid!" She stuffed her pajamas into her bag; she would get them laundered at the school eventually. RaBuF was definitely the best brand out there; Janine viewed Aurora Meek, the owner of the line, as nothing short of a goddess. The woman seemed to make a style for everybody! Goths and preps alike shopped at the store, just in different sections. Tossing remaining knickknacks into her already over packed trunk, the Hispanic girl descended the stairs for a rather early breakfast.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****  
Gwen awkwardly paced the proximity of King's Cross Station, feeling rather misplaced. Ever the early birds, the Meeks had left their home in Birmingham early enough for their new car, a Ford Bruinen, to pull into the station at ten, an hour before the train was scheduled to depart. Gwen idly pushed her trolley around as her parents Marco and Aurora Meek pored over the train ticket. The platform number was confusing them.  
  
"Gwen, Sweetie, are you certain they did not make an error on the ticket?" Mr. Meek queried for what seemed to be the umpteenth occasion, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown over the scrap of paper.  
  
Gwen gnawed her lip slightly. She was not absolutely sure, and they had arrived so outrageously early that they would have to wait to eavesdrop on conversations of other possible wizards.  
  
The girl idly tugged on one of her sandy curls, her turquoise eyes casually surveying the station. Her father was off asking conductors if they had heard of platform Nine and Three-quarters (and was getting a lot of dumbfounded, calculating stares) while her mother was thumbing through several maps of England. Suddenly, a tall, slim blonde girl about her age swaggered into view- she had a slightly snobbish aura about her- and she seemed to be criticizing what seemed to be a younger sister.  
  
"This place is filthy!" the girl fumed. "Don't these Muggles ever clean anything?"  
  
"Marigold..." her father chided, a warning sort of tone in his voice. "That is the platform over there." Oddly enough, he was pointing to a solid brick all between platforms nine and ten.  
  
"Mom, I think she may be another student," Gwen whispered, deciding to take the risk of approaching this other girl. She confidently strode over to the blonde with a friendly smile on her face. The other girl halted, a mien of analysis on her face. Close-up, this girl Marigold was proved to be very good-looking, definitely older than herself. Gwen began second-guessing the opinion she had formed that this other girl was her age. She had a small, pert nose, and almond-shaped cerulean eyes.  
  
"Can I help you?" the blonde asked haughtily, flippantly tossing her blonde hair over her narrow shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, do you by any chance know where platform Nine and Three Quarters is?" Gwen asked hesitantly.  
  
The blonde sneered. "In the wall, Mudblood." Without even waiting for a reply or Gwen's question about what a Mudblood was, she did an about-face and flounced away to follow her parents, heading for the barrier her father had indicated. Nonplussed, being one with a slow temper, Gwen coolly watched the blonde approach the wall, and- disappear through it. She blinked, wondering if it was a trick of the light, but the blonde had vanished. Gwen decided to attempt the same sort of thing Marigold or whatever her name was had done. Summoning all the courage of her kind heart, Gwen steered her trolley to point precisely at the brick barrier, and hesitated momentarily to scrutinize the barrier. It looked to be a solid brick wall, and bound to inflict bodily harm. Forcing herself to focus exclusively on doing what that other unpleasant girl had done, the preteen tossed her head of curly hair, her usual way of symbolically shaking off nerves, and strolled casually towards the wall. Suddenly remembering her parents, Gwen steered the trolley bearing her purple RaBuF trunk over to where tall, slender Aurora Meek stood waiting for her young daughter to return.  
  
"Mom, I think I perhaps have found another student at my school. She did something weird, I swear she went right through that wall!" Gwen knew she sounded loopy, but she was merely reporting what her turquoise eyes had beheld.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****  
  
Christina Zzra, as a half blood and daughter of a Hogwarts graduate, knew precisely how to get to the school train. Besides, her older brothers Curt, who was entering his fourth year as a Ravenclaw student and third-year Gryffindor Craig had already told her about everything from the snack cart on the train to the Sorting Hat to the unpleasant Potions teacher, Professor Snape. That subject, for one, was a class this pre-teenager was /not/ anticipating with joy. She was clad in her favourite Turpid shirt that irked her parents so much and her black lace up pants to wear on the train until she was obliged to change. She wanted to flaunt her true identity: an emerging rebel. She couldn't help but smirk slightly at Curtis' tie and button-up shirt- he was such a notorious perfectionist.  
  
"Dude, is that Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" Christina inquired, already knowing the answer as she pushed by a tall girl with sandy hair. Typical prep, the bespectacled girl thought with a quivering smirk as she absorbed the fact that the entirety of her attire, plus her nauseatingly purple trunk, came from what she disgustedly dubbed the "preppie section" of the Bristol RaBuF store. Aside from that, her clothes looked to be among the most expensive, hence making her a rich preppy snot. Craig nodded, basically dismissing his sister by means of shoving his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. He observed that she wasn't totally immersed in waiting for a reply anyway, but was staring at a tall girl who looked about fifteen, who was taller than himself.  
  
To Christina's distaste, Prep Girl actually found the audacity in herself to directly address her. "Er.. Excuse me, but what do you mean by Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"  
  
So this girl was a Muggle too. Knowing about Code something-or-other, Christina switched herself to Lying mode, adding in the opinion formulated by her assessment, and saying, "None of your business," in an icy tone.  
  
**************************************************************************** **** Gwen's eyebrows shot up; wizarding folk did not seem a very amiable group of people. It was as if they were all conspiring to be downright discourteous to her. She felt a faint stir of anger in her slow temper, but overcame it with a snap. This auburn-haired girl was speaking condescendingly in a similar manner, but Gwen somehow detected something different, "Excuse me, I do believe you misunderstand me. it's on my train ticket."  
  
The hostile look softened very slightly, but the petite girl in black was still looking at her in an appraising manner, almost as if she were sizing her up. Suddenly, Gwen realized what she was possibly thinking. that she, in her relatively pricey clothes, was a rich, conceited snob. There was nothing she could do to change the dark-eyed girl's opinion, but she could still be friendly, perhaps penetrating the hard shell she seemed to be putting on. "Well, it's in the wall."  
  
"Some other person also told me that. But what am I supposed to do?" Gwen asked. **************************************************************************** ********* Christina sighed at the unceasing idle talk, but decided to maintain her sub-zero composure and at least help the perky tall girl out. All the same, she was surprised that the girl even needed directions- did her appearance belie her age or was she utterly devoid of two brain cells to rub together? "Just. come with me, I guess," the olive-skinned eleven-year- old said, watching the retreating back of Curtis disappear through the barrier. It seemed her parents and Craig had already passed through- nice way to show report for a student beginning her first-ever day at the school.  
  
"Thank you," Gwen said, offering a smile. In spite of herself, Christina's lips curved upward in return- this girl seemed okay enough, she surmised, though she definitely needed more analysis before she would even consider extending the hand of friendship.  
  
"Well, then. Let's go through together. Just don't be scared you'll break one of your precious nails crashing into the barrier, because then you will. Believe you'll pass through."  
  
The girl lifted her hand and looked at her nails, which Christina observed to be rather short. It was nice to know there was one superficial entity she didn't care for perfectly. "What nails?" she laughed. Christina couldn't contain the smallest of smiles at the light-hearted joke.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go. And don't draw no attention to us now, bandying on about the platform number and such." Gwen nodded in compliance to Christina's orders, and hugged her parents farewell before squeezing her eyes tightly shut and walking towards the barrier. The back of the small auburn-haired girl was already retreating.  
  
Christina passed through fluidly with ease and no worries, and stopped her trolley before turning to wait for Gwen. What if she /had/ crashed headlong into the brick wall? That would be bound to be painful. She half-debated going back through to look for- suddenly, she realized she didn't know the girl's name- her, when she came through, eyes shut.  
  
"Eh. I do believe you can open your eyes now," Christina said. The eyelids snapped open to reveal a pair of turquoise eyes that widened in awe at the scarlet steam engine.  
  
"Well, what do you know, I actually did it," she stated with a smile and a toss of her thick curls. "I've just realized something- we don't even know each other's names, and we've been talking and stuff how long?"  
  
"Well, we ought to amend that then." Christina said, suddenly realizing that she had managed to last in an actual conversation with this girl without being too nauseated. "I'm Christina Zzra, lifelong resident of Bristol, terror of her neighborhood." She cracked a wide grin.  
  
Gwen smiled at the other girl's introduction of herself. "And I'm Gwen Meek, overly-obsessed track person, Birmingham girl, artist." She left out that she was the daughter of the renowned Aurora Meek, she did not feel like rubbing the other girl- no, Christina's, nose in the wealth of her family.  
  
"Okay, that's great then," Christina said, trying futilely to insert her trademark sarcasm into her tone. She was almost beginning to feel affable towards Gwen. "Listen, do you want to share a compartment with me since I have nobody better to ride to Hogwarts with?"  
  
Gwen blinked at Christina's somewhat stinging remark about having nobody better to ride with, then she decided to assume that this was Christina's idea of being sociable. The two girls began to walk along the length of the train after Christina gave her parents a small wave, looking for a compartment devoid of other students.  
  
When they passed a compartment three doors from the back, Gwen was displeased to spot the unpleasant girl from before glaring back at her. She was sitting with an overly skinny girl with long, wavy golden hair, and donning extremely tight pants and a baby tee. She hastened her steps trying to void confrontation, much to Christina's puzzlement, but the skinny blonde and the one with the blonde layers who had snubbed Gwen jumped off, deliberately stepping right in front of them to impede their progress.  
  
"Excuse us, but you're in our way," Christina said, black eyes glaring fit to kill at the two blondes. We may be first years but you still don't scare us."  
  
The skinny blonde laughed harshly. "For your information, we're first years, too. You guys must be extremely stupid."  
  
Christina clenched her jaw in mounting fury. "Us, stupid. Yeah, that's a good one. I don't imagine you guys have the ability to increase your intelligence, what with spending so much time on your hair. and nails. And putting your faces on!"  
  
"You're just jealous because we have boobs and you don't. though your friend has at least that one good thing about her. probably the only good thing. Tell her she ought to try and use a hair straightener, so she can actually have hope."  
  
"Not the most perspicacious of people, are you?" Christina retorted, meanly satisfied to watch them exchange befuddled glances at her pretentious dialect.  
  
"Bloody hell, Four-eyes, your words are bigger than you are!" the girl with the layered haircut said with a condescending gibe that made Christina yearn to sock her in the mouth. "But one must warn you not to mess with Marigold Parkinson, or I'll have my relatives after you. We're very- influential, people."  
  
"So that's your name, is it?" Christina snorted. Well, my mom has heard differing opinions."  
  
"Yeah? And who the hell are you and your friend anyway?" Marigold rejoined, shooting a nasty glance at Gwen. "Not that I care about her, I can tell a Mudblood just by looking at them."  
  
"You watch your mouth!" Christina said. "I bet you've never fought anybody in your life, unlike me! And I don't give a bloody damn about your sodding family anyway! By the way, you'll have to find out our names for yourselves, unless your friend tell us hers first!"  
  
"Well, then, feisty are we? Laura Downs and I consider it a waste of time talking to you two. And your names aren't important anyway."  
  
"For your information, I'm Christina Zzra, and this is Gwen Meek, and I do believe my mom knows yours," Christina said.  
  
"She does indeed, and I happen to know that your father's a dirty Muggle who gets himself all greasy every day, just like a commoner," Marigold pronounced. "And your name confirms you as a Mudblood, Meek. My, my, my, you certainly a meek little girl, aren't you?  
  
Meek little girl, indeed, Gwen thought cynically in her mind, but didn't verbalize her opinion. "No, I just don't give a care what someone like you has to say."  
  
You won't be so high and mighty after we get through with you two," Laura said ominously. "It'll be a bloody miracle if you find any friends other than each other; nobody likes Mudbloods or Muggle-lovers!"  
  
"You want to bet?" Christina said. "I'm not nearly as dense as your little peabrain makes me out to be, and I know that loads of Muggle-borns are enrolled at Hogwarts. And that not all so-called 'purebloods' have your twisted, biased opinion." She clenched her fist in case either of the odious snobs made a move to fight them.  
  
Gwen placed a hand on Christina's shoulder, noticing the warning side of her temper getting the better of her. "So you two think you're better than us at everything, do you? Tell me, which of you two are more athletic?"  
  
Laura and Marigold exchanged disdainful glances, and Gwen was pleased to realize that meant they considered sports to be beneath them. They certainly did seem the type to be loath to do anything that would knock a hair out of place. "Laura," Marigold replied after a few seconds. "And exactly why does that matter?"  
  
"So you think you're better than me at everything because I'm Muggle- born?" Gwen challenged. Cristina was startled to notice that Gwen did seem to have a confrontational streak; not the sort that was conventional in her opinion, but it worked.  
  
"You're bloody right, I am better," Laura boasted.  
  
"How well can you run?" Gwen inquired.  
  
"Very fast indeed," Laura claimed, knowing very well that was not true. She was somewhat speedy, but she knew many who surpassed her. It mattered not whether this Meek girl was better than her, it was not like it made any difference anyway. She still had filthy blood.  
  
"I bet Laura could have finished four miles while you two are still on your first!" Marigold put in.  
  
"That's a very, er, high claim indeed," Christina said with a contemptuous smile curling her lips upwards. "Of course, you will need that you can beat Gwen out here, who I surmise can outrun almost anybody." She knew she was taking a great chance praising this girl who she hardly knew yet was beginning to feel a connection to, but she could not allow these elitists to maintain their feeling of superiority. Gwen couldn't help but smile to herself, Christina's heated words were the truth though out of the four, only she herself knew them to be accurate.  
  
"Really, then. I bet," Marigold articulated, her tone dripping with venomous scorn.  
  
"That's great you want to place a bet?" Christina asked. She was one who had often gambled with her spare cash in elementary school, and had won them more often than not.  
  
"I didn't mean that for real, moron," Marigold responded with a biting riposte. "As if either one of you could afford a bet anyway." Gwen was dressed in rather nice clothes, but Marigold Parkinson would "slum it" in an outfit over actually complimenting that frizzy-haired girl any day.  
  
"How much? Or are you a pair of chickens" Christina inquired. She knew that Marigold was likely to pose a high sum, which could prove disastrous if Laura wasn't actually all talk. Her family was merely middle class while Marigold unfortunately was upper class.  
  
"Twenty-five Galleons," Laura answered simply.  
  
"Thirty," Marigold snapped with a sharp look at her follower.  
  
"Perhaps we should go a little easy on them, judging by their financial status!" Laura chuckled.  
  
Marigold was obviously appeased by her friend's answer. "Good one! Twenty-five then, if you can afford it. Can you?"  
  
"I certainly can!" Christina lied, feeling her stomach sink. She couldn't, she could only afford fifteen at most, but she would rather scarf down a raw, living bird than admit this to the exclusive blondes confronting them. She was oblivious to other students passing by and giving curious stares.  
  
"It's a bet, then" Laura said. "Tell you what, two times around the lake, does that sound good, Gwen?" She had heard that Hogwarts had a small lake, which would be perfect. A very short run couldn't hurt her.  
  
"It certainly does, it sounds perfect," said Gwen with a confident smile that the blonde she was facing off with did not return. "First nice free day we have, we'll meet you guys there."  
  
"Go away, now, we'll see you by the lake," Christina snarled.  
  
"Oh, we were just leaving, weren't we, Mari? We don't wish to waste any more of our time with you, do we?"  
  
"We certainly don't!" Marigold said. "See you soon, Mudblods, and don't let the decent students get you! With a mocking laugh, she linked her arm with Laura's Twiggy-esque limb and sauntered away.  
  
"Have fun putting new faces on!" Christina called after their retreating backs. Laughing, she and Gwen continued on to find the rear compartment available. Together, they heaved their luggage into the small room and took their seats.  
  
"I haven't got twenty-five Galleons!" Christina said, sounding panicked. "Please run to win, Gwen!" Her face looked a little pale.  
  
"Don't worry, Christina, I feel rather confident somehow," said Gwen, debating whether to speak of her numerous past triumphs and deciding against it. "I think I can beat that underweight powder puff. How much do you reckon she is anyway, fifty-five pounds?"  
  
"That sounds a little high for Laura, I don't reckon she even knows what nourishment is. She's a starved Barbie doll, she seriously makes a Barbie look fat!" Christina laughed with a hearty guffaw.  
  
"I bet a Barbie sitting on her could crush her to death," Gwen mused, causing Christia to giggle some more. Then she grew solemn.  
  
"But what if we do lose?" Christina implored, still sounding worried.  
  
"Then I've got us covered," Gwen said, snapping open the clasps on her trunk and withdrawing a small sack. She pulled it open to reveal a rather high amount of small gold and silver coins. Christina's jaw fell open slightly with surprise; Gwen was even wealthier than she'd believed at first. "My mom gave me about two hundred Euros to last me until Christmas in case I need money before Christmas.. And she said she'll send more if I need it. I changed it for wizard money."  
  
"What exactly do your parents do, anyway?" Christina questioned, watching her newfound friend replace her change in the trunk and snapping them back shut. Her friend was without a doubt loaded, and that would come in handy.  
  
"Dad's a doctor, and Mum has a clothing line," Gwen said simply. Christina accepted that as the obvious reason for that apparently immeasurable wealth. and she hadn't been conceited about it either, even to show up Marigold and Laura.  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by a medium-skinned girl in a hooded sweatshirt and baggy jeans sticking her head of reddish-brown curs into the compartment. "You guys wouldn't mind too much if I joined, would you? There's no empty compartments I can use."  
  
"No need to sit all alone, you can join us, Gwen said, patting the vacant seat on her left. The newcomer gratefully ascended with her suitcases.  
  
"I'm Janine Cooper, this is my first year. You guys?"  
  
"Ours too," Christina replied. "I'm Christina Zzra, and this is Gwen Meek."  
  
"Where are you two from? I'm from Cordor, England.. Rhymes with Mordor, and sometimes it does seen like Mordor to me! Wait.. You two might not know what I'm talking about. have either of you ever read Lord of the Rings?"  
  
"I saw the movies," Gwen answered, at the same time Christina intoned, "Are you kidding? About ten times.. They're my favorite books of all time! I'm a regular Lord of the Rings geek, and people are always like, why do you read such thick books, Christina?"  
  
"Then I think the three of us will get along fine. just a word of advice, Gwen.. You ought to read the books, they're better than all three of the movies, they didn't do the books justice."  
  
"Really? I found the movie awesome," Gwen answered. "But I have been intending to check out the books, I just never have time."  
  
"I'll loan you my copy," Janine answered earnestly. "By the way, I noticed you guys seemed hacked off before passing by. what was going on with those two overly-primped blondes, anyway?" Gwen explained about the bet the same time as Christina launched into a tirade about elitists.  
  
"Hmm. those two sound like the sort I enjoy making fun of," Janine said thoughtfully. Suddenly, the doors closed. "I do believe we're leaving.. We're going on the first great adventure of our very boring lives!"  
  
"Journey to Mordor.. No, wait, you come from here," Christina giggled. For the duration of the ride, the girls discussed the books and movies animatedly, Janine and Christina explaining to Gwen exactly why the movie had wrecked the story. 


	4. Of snooping and prejudice

Cheesebearer: they haven't met Anna yet.. Laura and Mari meet Anna on the train when Anna comes in and asks why they were talking to what appeared to be a Mudblood and a disgrace to wizards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author's note: *laughs* Remember that IM, Malting? *grin* I've still got to get you an LJ, don't I? If only you and DC were on at the same time at some point, then I will remember. Anyhoo, here follows the account of more Raspberry stuffles. Happy reading, my dear mellyn!  
  
A random fact about another fic I am in the progress of composing: "The Two Unknown": If I were to print it in ten-point Times New Roman font, it'd take up 73 pages! I do believe my mom would treat me to a slow, painful death if I printed it at home.. Heh, I should try writing a real book if I ever come up with an original story, I'd definitely be able to achieve a fair length.. I also ran a word count on the Two Unknown and got 49,223 words. And lesse how many pages it'd be in a size 72 font. yipes, I almost made my computer crash! 3447 pages! Oh, mom, wanna see what my story looks like in a quite big font? And how about the max my computer can have, size 1638.. uh oh, crapola, I made the window all screwy.. Does Trishette need to get a life or what? Craaaaaappp.. I'm gonna save this and go restart, I really froze up the window.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer: Okay, I'm back. All standard disclaimers apply to this fic.  
  
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Meanwhile, Fern, Lucia, Daphne, and Felicia had managed to find a compartment entirely for themselves, and spent the duration of the train ride chattering about everything about their past lives they possibly could. As a matter of fact, Felicia and Daphne did most of the talking, while Lucia added her own input at sporadic intervals. Fern spent most of the train ride staring out the window, captivated by the passing unfamiliar scenery. It was now dusk, and the four girls had already changed into their robes. Fern, no longer able to see out the window due to the light within the compartment being reflected, took to listening in on the conversation one compartment over. Three different voices, all sounding holier-than-thou, were laughing about some pair of girls or another.  
  
"I mean, can you believe the way some people dress, Anna? Or how they don't bother to fix themselves? I mean that one girl had hair so curly I bet it'd support a pencil.. Someone get that girl a straightening iron, her hair is a little too big! And then that other one has her whole head hidden behind a huge-ass pair of glasses.. Her hair is okay except for bangs, but those glasses make her look like a bloody insect!"  
  
"I haven't seen these girls, thank goodness, but they sound like utter zeros, Marigold. I really cannot wait to give my opinion on somebody."  
  
"Wait.. It gets worse," a third high-pitched voice piped up. "The tall one with hair bigger than her body is a Mudblood. And that skinny little midget friend of hers seems to be Halfblooded. almost is bad, but she doesn't have to go consorting with those of dirty blood!"  
  
"Are you KIDDING me Laura?" asked the voice of the one who had said she hadn't met the two topics of their insults yet. "That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard.. All Mudbloods should be chucked out of Hogwarts! Bloody hell. I think I'm gonna be sick! Let me put it this way: Anna Moon and Mudbloods do not mix. Anna Moon is far too good for Mudbloods." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Fern thought she could be sick from the utter ridiculousness of the conversations. she was always one angered by those who made any discriminatory remarks.  
  
Felicia looked over to see a suddenly angry-looking expression on the skinny blonde's face. "What's up, Fern?" The brunette brushed her long wispy bangs out of her blue eyes as she waited for her friend to answer.  
"Listen," Fern muttered, placing a finger on her lip. The others quieted down just in time to hear, "It sucks that Harry Potter beat out the Dark Lord of the 1970s through 1990s, because the Dark Lord would have done us all a favor beating out the Mudbloods and Muggle lovers."  
  
Felicia's hands clenched into small fists. She was itching to go marching into the compartment next door to sock a little sense into somebody's face. Fern's eyes had widened, her face and eyes darkening with her slow wrath having been incurred.  
  
"Hmmm, somebody would like to be killed by us," Daphne muttered. "Do you guys reckon they would talk so loud if they knew who was next door?"  
  
"They sound all talk if you ask me," Felicia muttered, giving her brown hair another toss. She made an angry gesture at the wall before busying herself with one of her suitcases, seeming to be looking for something. None of the others asked what it was. Fern turned her head to stare at the reflection of a skinny girl with slightly unruly blonde hair. Lucia was braiding her glossy, layered dark hair in random spots, and Daphne seemed to be flexing her hands. The ignoramuses next door were now giggling like hyenas over some topic or another.  
  
Just then, a voice issued through the long scarlet train almost lazily, announcing that they would arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes, asking that they leave their luggage on the train. The girls immediately forgot their umbrage, their fury being overpowered by pure nerves. What was in store for them over the next seven years? What House would they be selected for? Would they be able to hold their own? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When the train finally screeched to a halt, the doors slid open of their own accord and multitudes of shadowy shapes began disembarking from the train. Felicia, Daphne, Fern, and Lucia descended together, taking care not to lose one another. "First years! First years, this way! Follow me!" Following the voice, the crowd of thirty or so discovered a tall, muscle- bound man with a jaunty smile. "Are there any more first years? Anyone? No? Well then, come follow me!"  
  
The man led them away from the rest of the school, following a steep path. Lucia, apparently not accustomed to physical exertion, kept groaning under her breath from the cramps beginning in her pudgy legs. "My name is Nicholas Erk!" the man leading them said. "You will soon see the first sight of the place which will be your home for seven years."  
  
There was a collective gasp as a magnificent castle came into their line of vision. "I never dreamed this.. This is spectacular!" a very tall girl with a massive amount of sandy curls breathed from behind them. She was accompanied by a small bespectacled girl and a second girl slightly taller than her first companion with voluptuous hips and narrow shoulders. Noticing her, Fern couldn't help but wonder if these were the friends being insulted by the people in the compartment neighboring hers. "In fact, this is awesome! Janine, Christina, can you believe this? I love it!"  
  
Her friends, apparently Janine and Christina, seemed too petrified to answer their lofty friend with more than brief nods. Fern turned her head and looked ahead, lagging slightly behind her own friends due to her keenness to observe the others. Coming upon a fleet of boats, the first years floated towards the magnificent castle. Fern, Lucia, Janine, Christina, Gwen, Daphne, and Felicia were unknowingly rowing towards the most eventful period of their lives with aching arms.  
  
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Author's note: Definitely the shortest chapter likely to come chronicling the Raspberries! I couldn't resist that final sentence as a concluding sentence. next part comes the Sorting, first impressions, and the outcome of the bet between Gwen/Christina and Marigold/Laura! Gwen and Christina will also be followed by their newfound friend Janine, and the conniving bitches Marigold and Laura by Anna /Moon, perhaps the nastiest one in the terrible threesome though Marigold is the self-proclaimed leader! 


	5. The Big Bet

Author's note: Here's part five of the chronicling of the Raspberries' first year; it's the Sorting and- the bet! Will it be interesting? You BET it will!  
  
Disclaimer: It's the usual yadda yadda yadda. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The line of thirty new students were led into the Great Hall, led by the tall, thin Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, who looked old enough for her age to be three digits. At the head of the line was the bespectacled Christina Zzra, now clad in her Hogwarts robes. The girl of diminutive stature looked very nervous, but she was also beginning to look excited about this new turn to her lifetime. As they were led to the front of the Great Hall, Christina walking behind Professor McGonagall, the tall, curly-haired blonde with a thin face began whispering to her. This girl seemed as if she were possibly taller than even Gwen.  
  
"Wow, this is really exciting to be here. I'm the third child in my family to start here, I hope I get I get into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, preferably in Ravenclaw. Have you any older brothers or sisters here? I'm Amy Boot, by the way." The girl threw her long blonde curls over her shoulder so that they caught the light, and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement.  
  
"My brother Curtis Zzra is a Ravenclaw third year, and Craig is a Gryffindor second. I'm Christna.. Yeah, my parents liked giving names starting with the letter C." Amy smiled. "I've heard of Curtis."  
  
The line came to a halt and turned to face the rest of the students that would be their schoolmates for their year. Christina inclined forward slightly, her dark eyes darting around looking for Gwen and Janine. Janine was not too far behind herself, placed behind a short, fat girl with chin- length blonde hair and a tall girl with wavy waist-length blonde hair. Blonde hair seemed pretty common in this particular class of students. The three people behind herself all had varying shades of blonde in their hair, but the fifth, sixth, and seventh persons in the line were brunets. Gwen was towards the rear, behind a pair of twin girls and in front of a tall girl with long red hair. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Felicia fidgeted nervously in her place in line between a brunette with slanted eyes and a blonde with a layered haircut and an air that reeked of an arrogant attitude. There was something familiar about this girl, but she could not place it.  
  
"This is really gay," the blonde commented haughtily to her scrawny friend standing behind her. Felicia scowled; this sounded exactly like the voice she and her three friends from Diagon Alley had heard talking about some others, including a girl with "hair curly enough it looks like it could support a pencil." Looking along the line, Felicia guessed that the tall sandy-haired girl had been whom they had been badmouthing. Were those she was standing by her friends. They did not seem to fit the preppy snob's description, though.  
  
"Your head is in your ass," Felicia muttered. She had spoken a little too loudly, for the girl's attention shifted to herself.  
  
"What did you say?" the girl asked, glaring. Even her very voice sounded haughty, she sounded as if she were attempting to put on a phony exotic accent.  
  
"I said your head is in your ass. I heard your comments about my friend's dad," Felicia challenged. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see an irked Professor McGonagall. Felicia blushed and mumbled an apology, and started looking about the line for Fern, Lucia, and Daphne. She, from her position almost at he halfway point in the line, took a while to locate them but she finally did so. First she saw Lucia between a short girl with a curly brown ponytail and a tall good- looking boy, then she saw Daphne and Fern almost at the end of the line, separated only by a small girl with extremely long brown hair. Felicia smiled at Lucia when their eyes locked, then turned to watch the hat that McGonagall had now brought out. She had not even noticed the Sorting song.  
  
"Abbott, Lena!" A wavy-haired blonde stepped out of the line and settled herself on the stool. Professor McGonagall settled the hat on her head, and it fell forward to cover her eyes. After the moment, a rip at the brim open and the hat bellowed, "Ravenclaw!" The table second from the right began cheering- they were certainly enthusiastic about newcomers here! Lena set the hat on the stool as she went to join this table.  
  
"Belasca, Felicia!" Her stomach lurched when McGonagall called her name out of nowhere. She ought to have known she'd be at the beginning, for her last name started with the letter B. It was a mercy that Abbott came before Belasca in the alphabet! She walked to the stool on quaking legs- it seemed at least a mile. Darkness enveloped her as she felt McGonagall set the hat on her head.  
  
"Hmmm. strong personality here, I see... You do not fear speaking your mind, and you do not take flak from others lying down. You consider your greatest fear to be heights, but you do not let yourself go to pieces in a tough situation. I say your ideal house would be GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
The table on the far left exploded with cheers, and Felicia shakily walked over to an empty section at the table. As she approached, several people called out, "Welcome to Gryffindor, Felicia Belasca!" Felicia grinned at these, then turned to watch others being Sorted. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the end, Felicia and Daphne were sorted into Gryffindor, while Fern, Lucia, Janine, Gwen, and Christina landed in Hufflepuff. Christina was furious: Hufflepuff? The House that was for "everyone else?" That meant the bloody hat had not found her particularly brave, or witty, or cunning. The hat had said she was a decent measure of all three main traits yet it had put her in Hufflepuff! Janine and Gwen were okay enough, but Fern and that other girldid not seem very into confrontation, or even conversation. They sometimes muttered things to each other that she couldn't catch. Were they talking about her or her two newfound friends? If they were, she would tell off the pair of pathetic fools. Marigold, Laura, and Anna, unsurprisingly, had been dumped into Slytherin, though Christina privately felt she actually wouldn't mind that House too much unless her dorm mates were exclusively rich schmucks.  
  
"Lucia, what part of England are you from?" Janine asked. She wasn't going to bother asking Fern; she knew the Potters lived in some obscure small town in the middle of nowhere. It was good she was earliest in the alphabet of the Hufflepuffs so she could memorize the names of the others.  
  
"Oh, Lucia, that's your name, I though it was Lisa or something like that," Christina said.  
  
"Kent," the dark-haired girl answered in her wispy voice. Wispy hair, wispy voice: if it weren't for her chubby body she'd be nothing but a wisp.  
  
"I'm from Cordor, rhymes with Mordor!" Janine sang with a laugh. Fern and Lucia looked confused; they were apparently unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings. Hopeless there.  
  
"Hey, you know who I can't stand? Those girls," Christina declared, indicating Anna, Marigold, and Laura at the Slytherin table. They weren't easy to miss, because the three of them and a fourth girl, with narrow eyes and brown hair just a little past her shoulders, kept turning to stare in their direction.  
  
"Yeah, we've got a bet with them and we're going to win, Gwen here is going to win for us," Janine added. You see that skinny girl?" Fern and Lucia nodded. "she's racing against Gwen, if there is even the slightest bit of wind I bet she'll be blown away, not that we care."  
  
"Gwen looks like a runner," Fern commented, scrutinizing the curly- haired girl.  
  
"Nah, even though I am one. You look like more of one, with your small hips and chest and your skinny body," Gwen replied. Fern blushed slightly; she had apparently taken Gwen's words as an insult.  
  
"Hey, come watch us win our bet, you two," said Christina. "You know the small redhead and the gangly brunette with bangs you two were hanging out with? They're welcome to watch." Fern looked surprised that they had actually been noticed, never mind their companions, but Lucia knew Christina meant Felicia and Daphne. Felicia and Fern seemed the kind of people who would enjoy watching a bet in action. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I am seriously loving Hogwarts so far, I've gotten /such/ a great impression of it!" Daphne was the speaker, and she was talking to the five Hufflepuff female first years and Daphne. They were waiting for Marigold and Laura to arrive so that Laura and Gwen could run laps around the lake. Daphne and Felicia had just endured double Potions with Professor Snape, their first-ever Hogwarts lesson. He had spent the whole time implying that they were a crowd of hopeless imbeciles, and was it her imagination or had he particularly targeted herself and Felicia? Even better, Marigold and Laura, plus their friends Alicia and Anna, had decided to take every opportunity to snipe at them. Felicia had jotted a note about a little exchange of words with Marigold, who seemed the leader, and Snape had done nothing to snap it.  
  
"I agree. Marigold and those others can take their attitudes and shove them up their asses," Felicia added vehemently.  
  
"They're such bitches, I'd like to slap them all silly," Christina raged furiously, stamping her foot on the hard ground. The Hufflepuffs had been in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and quickly decided that Professor Rollins was a lunatic. He had taken three minutes or so introducing several people who were not there as his helpers and rambled about a little birdie friend of his. Other times, he just randomly raved about various topics, and they had no clue about what he was saying. She was still fuming over the Hogwarts Express incident.  
  
"Ahh, speak of the devil, or should I say devils? Look who's coming?" Gwen was clad in sweatshorts, a T-shirt, and running shoes, naturally all RaBuF. She had merely worn her cloak over her out-of-uniform ensemble, and made sure to hold it shut in class: not that Rollins actually seemed to notice what the students wore. They could probably show up naked and he still wouldn't notice. To her amusement Laura was in a denim skort and a micro-tank.  
  
"That Laura girl is dressed like a preteen tramp!" Janine commented stridently, laughing at her nemesis' outfit.  
  
"No, you just need fashion sense! All of you!" Laura yelled back, tossing her long hair, which was loose. Gwen smirked again; that would hinder her running if she were any competition at all, which she seriously doubted. This girl looked as if she had never tried out any sort of physical activity whatsoever in her life- shopping for several hours straight did not count.  
  
"I do believe you're also insulting yourself then, Laura Down," Gwen laughed as the four girls joined the seven of them, looking the skort and micro-tank up and down. Without a doubt, she was clad in merchandise purchased from a RaBuF store! The logo was absent, but these were definitely clothes her own mother had devised.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Laura asked, her perfectly tweezed eyebrows knitting in a frown. She hoped that Gwen had not just realized that they were wearing the same brand of clothes. She did like RaBuF attire, she just didn't wear the zigzag containing the letters r-a-b-u-f plastered all over them. Those people who thought they were cool merely by displaying the brand of clothing on their clothing were pathetic. It was the sex appeal of the clothes that made them cool, not the brand. Laura knew her form-fitting clothes would any guy in his right mind do a double- take when passing her- but Gwen? So what if the RaBuF logo was on the left leg of her shorts, and on each shoulder? No self-respecting guy would stop to have a second look at her!  
  
"I notice that you're wearing RaBuF clothes," Gwen said with a laugh. If this girl knew who had made those clothes! "You said you wanted to run three times around the lake, right?" Actually, Laura had said two, but if Marigold and Laura forgot about that, their amusement could increase. Christina opened her mouth to speak but when Gwen trod on her foot slightly she closed it with a snap.  
  
"How do you know these are RaBuF, Meeko? Omigod.. My tag isn't sticking out, is it?" Laura's face actually paled slightly, and Christina failed to stifle a snigger.  
  
"You're fine as always, Laura," said Alicia Thomas. "And Zzra, there's nothing funny so I'd advise you to shut your sodding mouth unless you want your ass kicked."  
  
Christina inhaled a fake gasp of terror, entertained by her pathetic show of toughness. "What, you're going to beat me up? Oh Merlin, I'm so scared! I'm just quivering all over, I simply cannot contain my fright! Hey, guys, this one here," she indicated Alicia, "thinks she can beat me up! Oh, my, how terrifying."  
  
Alicia's face darkened and she made a move. She probably would have struck Christina if Marigold had not laid a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. "Hey, let us win the bet first before we start rearranging faces, Alicia." The seven girls written off by Mari as hopeless losers dissolved in peals of laughter.  
  
"Oy, Laura, I'm ready when you are," Gwen said, jogging in place slowly to warm her muscles up. Anna and Marigold stared at the curly-haired Hufflepuff incredulously, and Daphne was rather confused herself. Lucia would have been too, had she not been rapt on the ensuing argument.  
  
"What the hell are you doing, Gwen, have you drank a hyperactivity potion or something?" Anna demanded. Gwen and all of her friends except for Lucia and Daphne positively roared with laughter.  
  
"I expect that's just a Mudblood custom, Weasley and Finch-Fletchley look confused and their parents are wizarding folk.. Though I believe Lucia's paternal grandparents were Muggle? Pity, guess that means only one of you are pureblood.. Not that the Weasleys deserve the title, what with all the Muggle-lovers in the family." Daphne saw red at Marigold Parkinson's defamation of her family and her small hands clenched into fists.  
  
"What was that you were saying?" Daphne challenged, placing her hands on her small hips.  
  
"Yeah, like you would really get it, Weasley. Do you need it spelled out for you? Wait, I bet you do. fraternizing with Muggles is sure to make you unable to understand even simple words," Anna added caustically, her poisonous green eyes haughtily scanning the tiny redhead.  
  
"Can we just get this over with and save the talk for later?" Laura demanded. When Laura's friends turned to look at her, she hastily added, "We can be tainted by being seen talking to these people.. We have our reputations to think of! Oh, what was your question Meek? Something about three laps, whatever those are?"  
  
Gwen rolled her turquoise eyes with disbelief: evidently Laura Downs was clueless about anything having to do with track. Her brushing Gwen off as a lunatic when she was doing her warmup exercises, the way she dressed up for running in those tight clothes, her ignorance about what a lap was.. It was too much! "It's what we- er, what do you call us? Mudbloods?" Gwen scowled; Christina had told her in no uncertain terms to clobber anyone who called her such a name over breakfast that morning. "It's what we would call one time around the lake."  
  
Three times around the lake did not sound right to Laura, but she decided not to speak up lest she seem scared of running an extra time around the lake- which was starting to look very large indeed. Three laps- if she made it around three times running, she would have to eat out the whole Slytherin table at dinner to recover. Anna stepped forward and led the girls to a place where two rocks were set up, one about ten feet in front of the other. She told Gwen to take the one further back and Laura to take the one in front. Pointing at Gwen's rock, Anna said, "First to pass this three times wins, and I mean pass it, starting on this rock does not count as one pass."  
  
"I'd hate to break this to you, Anna, but I knew that already," Gwen stated succinctly. "I've run so many races I've lost count." She decided not to complain about the shortcut, that's how confident she was about the outcome of the bet. Judging by the look of apprehension on Laura's face, she would be lucky if she made it around once, let alone thrice. Felicia had also spotted Laura's advantage point, and was furious.  
  
"You cheating, stupid bollocks, you're giving Laura a head start! Look, everybody, Laura's rock is about ten feet, probably more, in front of Gwen's! That's not fair!" Felicia made a move to move Gwen's rock further up, but the tall girl held out a hand to stop the furious brunette from grabbing the rock. Felicia stopped, breathing heavily in her temper, and gave Gwen a confused look.  
  
"She'll definitely lose if they're using this sort of tactic," Gwen muttered to Felicia, who sneered. "It's okay, they have people start further up front sometimes. Everything evens out in the end." She would explain about the starting points in relation to the circumference of the track later on. This wasn't exactly that setup but she felt that arguing about a head start for a person who she could beat anyway was pointless. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
"Right, then, let's get our money!" Anna declared. "Get on your rocks, both of you! One of Gwen's loser friends can tell them go.. How about Potter here? I haven't heard a peep from you, Potter!"  
  
Choosing to ignore that zing, Fern stepped forward and cleared her throat. She remembered the runner's start from gym class and Field Day. "On your marks," Fern said softly but clearly. Gwen crouched down in a runner's stance, but Laura remained upright, her arms folded. Let Meek do her weird actions! They were very comical to watch anyway. "Get set!" Fern leaned forward slightly, and Laura took a step. "Go!"  
  
Both girls ran forward upon Fern's command of "Go!" Gwen was running slightly slow but steadily; she would pick up speed later on. Laura spurted forward as fast as she could; and her three Slythericn cohorts began cheering for her and jeering at Gwen.  
  
"Come on, Meek, a turtle can run faster than that!" They could see she wasn't bad as she began to go a little faster, a little faster, but they needed to quash whatever confidence she was stupid enough to possess.  
  
"Hmm, this is so boring, the outcome is kind of obvious!"  
  
"It will be hard deciding what to do with this money!"  
  
"We should have upped the odds on the Mudblood losing!"  
  
Gwen was starting to close the gaop between her and Laura, however, as Laura began to quickly feel very weary and out of breath. She had started off much too fast, and her chest was beginning to pound. Sweat poured down her reddening face, enough to fill an eight-ounce glass by the look of it. Gwen seemed to be at leisure, however, and she was actually smiling as she ran. They were halfway around the first lap of the lake.  
  
"Laura started out much too fast, I know because I did that a lot myself," Fern whispered to Daphne.  
  
"I'm loving this, she's actually not looking very well-groomed now.. Look, she actually has a few hairs out of place!" They were, of course, referring to Laura.  
  
The gap was diminishing in size faster and faster as Gwen rapidly gained on Laura. She was beginning to reach the haze where she felt no pain and just ran, while Laura looked as if she were an agony. Gwen could actually see the slim girl's back heaving through the tight shirt as she took rapid shallow breaths. She was breathing the wrong way. She looked as if she was likely to make herself sick. Adding an extra burst of speed, Gwen drove level with Laura.  
  
Panicking, Laura tried to speed up again, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep level with Gwen. That other girl, the lunatic, was actually SMILING but Laura was in excruciating pain. Her right lower side was sharply protesting with her every stride, and her legs felt as if they were planning on locking completely and causing her to fall. Her heart was pounding in her head and the air she breathed did her no good. Gwen lengthened her stride AGAIN and made it more rapid. What was with her, was this having no effect on her? Suddenly, Laura could no longer match her, and Gwen cut in front and began widening the gap between herself and Laura. She passed the rock, signaling the completion of her first lap. Bloody hell, this was only the first lap still? This was torture, that's what it was!  
  
Gwen felt elated, in contrast to Laura's pain. She wasn't even running to what she knew was her full potential, there was no need to actually tire herself out this time. Laura was going to lose, she had set the seal on that by starting the race off running maximum speed. She would be an excellent sprinter, but this was a long-distance run! She began counting her own strides to a beat. One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three.  
  
Janine smirked as Laura passed for the first time, panting very audibly. Marigold, Anna, and Alicia looked livid, but everyone else was very pleased indeed.  
  
"Her purple face is clashing with that pink tank of hers, oh Merlin!" Christina observed loudly, so Laura could hear her biting remark. Laura's face darkened; she had apparently been affected. Running AND embarrassment from the outside? This was amusing to watch.  
  
Before Laura struggled even halfway through her second lap, Gwen had already completed hers, actually slowing down to wave to the spectators. She of course would never do that in a competitive race, but this was leisure for her. She was doing what she did best against an apparently rather unathletic person. "Great going, Gwen," Janine hissed, as Lucia gave the thumbs-up sign from behind her. Fern mimicked applause, while the others were shouting "Wooo, go Gwen, you're almost done!"  
  
This was insane, that Meek girl must have cheated. yes, that was the only explanation Laura could find. It was impossible, impossible, that anyone could run that far at a steady pace and maintain their comfort level. She had to have drunk a potion that would keep her from getting fatigued. Speaking of fatigue, Laura had resolved to go to bed very early that night, she sure as hell needed the slumber. And food.. How would she ever recover her energy otherwise? When Meek passed her again- bloody hell- Laura clapped a hand over her mouth. Her stomach had just performed an unpleasant flop, and she did NOT want to get sick on this outfit.  
  
"YES!" Gwen shouted jubilantly, passing the rock for the third time. She ran slightly further for emphasis, then slowed down and came to a halt. Laura had not even finished her second. "It's okay Laura, don't worry about lap three!" relieved at this mercy, Laura dropped to her knees where she could and began heaving violently,. Perhaps she should not have eaten quite so much breakfast. She watched Marigold hurl the money bag containing their galleons to the ground at Gwen's feet, and then the Slytherins rushed over to aid Laura. Those Hufflepuff and Gryffindor bitches exchanged high-fives, then began walking back to the castle. They would pay, they would get theirs. 


End file.
